The new skyscraper slated to be built in downtown Nicosia amid public outcry due its proximity to the medieval Famagusta Gate, will bring investment and rejuvenation to a stagnated area, the Nicosia district administration (EOA) president said on Monday.

According to reports, up to 25 floors had been requested by the investor for the proposed building, down from an original 36, in an area zoned for eight or at most ten storeys granted by exception.

Constantinos Yorkadjis, now president of the Nicosia EOA, in his previous capacity as mayor before July 1, had handled the initial application’s rejection after the antiquities department issued its objection.

Speaking to CyBC, Yorkadjis said the number of floors had been reduced further and that a decision over the matter now rests with the planning department.

Cyprus Mail earlier learned from the interior ministry that room numbers are what determine whether an application is handled by the EOA or the planning department, for hotels. If above 300 rooms, the application is handled by the planning authority. Though this applies to hotel developments it is now unclear precisely what the proposed building will offer.

Discussion is underway on matching the height of the proposed building to that of White Walls Tower 25, an award-winning 18-storey construction, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, on Stasinou street close to Eleftherias Square.

That building, erected in 2015, features a mix of luxury apartments (including a penthouse with a courtyard that takes up two floors), as well as offices and shops, and stands 67 meters above the skyline, also in proximity to the city’s medieval walls.

The latest proposed high-rise is at a “similar distance” from the medieval walls, Yorkadjis told the CyBC, though he was unable to precise this distance.

The permitting of the building had to be discussed on the principle of equal consideration, the EOA head said.

“From the moment an [exception] had been granted to a specific and extremely beautiful construction [the Jean Nouvel building] we consider that similar investments must be evaluated,” he added.

The outcome is not foregone but the municipality had been in favour of the construction from the start because in an area with minimal interest from investors, mere metres from the green line, it would be a highly significant asset, Yorkadjis said.

The city’s aesthetic would not be diminished by the skyscraper, contrary to the opinions of archaeologists, he said. Rather, it would bring life back to the area through encouraging further investments and was an opportunity to showcase the Venetian walls.

“Showcasing our heritage requires preserving it,” the EOA head said, which could not be done without investments.